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Conditioned Suppression as an Animal Psychophysical Technique

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Animal Psychophysics: the design and conduct of sensory experiments

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to describe and evaluate the conditioned suppression technique for the measurement of sensory thresholds in animals. Conditioned suppression was described by Estes and Skinner in 1941, but the technique was not used in animal psychophysics until recently. In a conditioned suppression experiment, a warning stimulus, which is terminated with a brief unavoidable electric shock, is superimposed on a baseline of ongoing lever pressing or key pecking independent of any responding by the animal. Conditioned suppression has, then, the advantages of aversive control while the ongoing behavior of the animal is being maintained on a positive reinforcement schedule.

Work described in this chapter was supported by the United States Air Force contract number F 29600-67-C-0012, project 6893, 6571st Aeromedical Research Laboratory, Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, and by the Atomic Energy Commission contracts At-(40-1)-2903 and AT-(40-1)-2690 with the Florida State University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Psychology Department, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA

    James Smith

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  1. James Smith
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  1. Kresge Hearing Research Institute, and Departments of Otorhinolaryngology and Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

    William C. Stebbins

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Smith, J. (1970). Conditioned Suppression as an Animal Psychophysical Technique. In: Stebbins, W.C. (eds) Animal Psychophysics: the design and conduct of sensory experiments. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-4514-6_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-4514-6_6

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-4516-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-4514-6

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